PHIS-NZ Best Doctoral Thesis Award

The PHIS-NZ Information Systems Doctoral Thesis
Award is presented annually to the author of the most outstanding PhD thesis in
Information Systems in a New Zealand university.

Sponsor

The PHIS-NZ Information Systems Doctoral Thesis
Award is sponsored by the Professors and Heads of Information Systems in New
Zealand (PHIS-NZ).

Eligibility

To be eligible for this award, the author of
the thesis must have completed (i.e., passed requirements for graduation) in
the calendar year preceding the award. The author must have completed a PhD in
an Information Systems program or a program that is strongly related to the
Information Systems field.

The Award

A plaque will be awarded by PHIS-NZ at the
annual New Zealand Information Systems Doctoral Consortium (NZISDC) and the
winner will be invited to give a short presentation at the Consortium. The nominees
of the award are to receive a certificate. The winner and all nominees are to be
listed on the PHIS-NZ Web site.

Nomination and Judging Processes

The head of department/school is invited to
submit one nomination (i.e., one nominee per NZ university) that addresses an
important issue in the Information Systems field and that represents the best
level of the department's doctoral work. The nomination is to be submitted to
the PHIS-NZ Chair by 5:00pm on 1 April in the year of the award. Nominations
received after that date and/or submissions that are incomplete will not be
considered. The nomination is to include:

A 5,000 word (excluding abstract and references) summary of thesis written by the nominee.

A letter of support for the nomination (e.g., outlining reasons why the thesis is worthy of the nomination and award) from the nominating supervisor or HOD.

The Judging
Panel will comprise of the Chair and Deputy Chair of PHIS-NZ and one or more
co-opted PHIS-NZ member(s).Judging criteria
will include, but not limited to, the following:

Research question(s) that address(es) a significant problem and a clearly identified research gap.

The appropriate and novel use of theory within the IS field or wider disciplines.

Rigorous in its method with clearly articulated justification of the selected methodology for data collection as well as analysis and suitability of these for the chosen research question(s).

Original and substantive contribution to the understanding, development, or use of information systems.

A history of good quality publications in each phase of work will be looked at favourably.

When nominations
have been made from the same university as a panel member, the panel member(s)
concerned shall recuse themselves from discussing or voting on that nomination.

The Judging Panel reserves the right to not
make an award in any year if no thesis substantially fulfils the criteria for
the award.

Queries

Submissions and questions about this award should
be addressed to the PHIS-NZ Chair.

[1]Some content in these terms of reference were sourced from the
ACPHIS IS Doctoral Thesis Award Competition Application Process Guidelines with
ACPHIS approval.